


Violets and Silverbells

by Azuresoundoff



Series: Chinese Ribbon Dancer [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cotton candy sticky fluff, F/M, I ended up sobbing during the first few paragraphs, Identity Reveal, Lot's of angst, somewhat not really, well...its not the main characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 17:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6620500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azuresoundoff/pseuds/Azuresoundoff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Plagg takes matters into his own paws after Adrien has a nightmare and refuses to come clean about it. So he drags him to the one person who can help him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Violets and Silverbells

**Author's Note:**

> So this story is a spin off another story of mine called Random Acts of Kindness goes along way. As much as its tad bit out of sync as I am posting a sequel first, I liked this one much more than my multichapter fanfic. The title of this song is based off a number from the Musical Shenandoah and several of the lyrics are featured throughout the story. So without further ado, enjoy.

All Adrien remembered was he was studying for tomorrow’s chemistry test when the chemical equations began to blur and the world had faded out of existence as he dozed off. The next thing he remembered, he was in a brightly lit yellow painted room, one furnished with cushy sofas, a refurbished wooden table that had antique tea set that gave off the scent of sweet strawberry and lemon tea and a platter of sugar cookies lying on it, bookshelves stuffed with various picture books and toys and various old dusty Knick knacks that lined the shelf of a recently lit fire place that still held remnants of a crackling flame.

_I swear… I know this place._

Suddenly the sweet notes of piano playing filled his ears as his feet began to move on their own. He walked out of the brightly lit room and found himself moving down a long corridor with walls built so high as they housed various giant sized portraits that all seemed rather blurred to Adrien. But he paid no attention to them as he continued being lead down the invisible breadcrumb trail of musical notes to a large black door at the end of the hall.

He stared at the brass doorknob as the music grew louder. He was unsure what or who was waiting on the other side. Yet someone was playing a song he recognized once upon a time. Shutting his eyes and letting out a breath, Adrien grasped the cold metal handle and turned it, shielding his eyes as a bright light spilled out of the crack in the door.

The room was brightly lit like the last one he was in yet it was much larger with golden walls, ivory pillars, windows framed in long red velvet curtains. The ceilings were laced with diamond chandeliers that sparkled in the sunlight, giving off streams of rainbows that danced along the walls. However, despite its elegant appearance, the room looked almost barren if not for two people, a man and woman, sitting at a large charcoal black grand piano that sat in the center of the room.

The man had a short but messy mop of platinum blond hair. He looked to be somewhere in his late thirties to early forties and wore a black tuxedo and red rimmed glasses that seemed to have a lack of cleaning. The woman that sat beside him as she played the piano looked shorter than him. She wore in a blue dress with a black jacket over her shoulders; her golden hair was tied up in a side ponytail by a white rose clip accented with various pearls and fake white feathers and wore black high heels on her feet. Their faces though were obscured from Adrien’s view but he could tell that they were enjoying themselves as the man inaudibly whispered something into his partner’s ear, wrapping his arm around her slender waist as she let out a feathery laugh.

 _I-I-I… no… I know that laugh_ …

Suddenly the carousel of music came to a sudden halt as the woman lifted her fingers from the piano keys and placed them back into her lap as she and the man turned to look back at him. Their loving gaze made Adrien’s heart to skip as his breath hitched in his throat. 

There was his father, looking like he did in the good old days, his hair just as messy and unkempt as though he hadn’t even bother trying to comb it when he got up. His sea blue eyes were unnaturally filled with joy and mischief as they gazed back at his Adrien, at _HIS_ son.

Yet what made Adrien rather unnerved was the woman sitting next to him. Her skin was flawless in the sunlight; her white teeth sparkled behind her pink lips; her blush as rosy as it lined her cheeks, and her emerald eyes that outshone the chandeliers that sparkled above. And the pearly flower pin she wore on her jacket…there was no mistaking it. It was her! She was beautiful and everything about her made his world beautiful. Yet somehow, just the sight of her made his head spin.

_Mom… no it-it-it can’t be._

“Adrien, darling!” He loved how his name rolled off her tongue as she got up and began walking towards him, “There you are! Oh I was wondering where you ran off to!”

“M-Mom…” he whispered, his voice breaking as he took a slight step back, feeling his eyes water at the sight of her. He felt her warmth as her hands cupped either side of his cheeks as she lifted his head to gaze down at him. He couldn’t believe it. Was he dreaming? He hadn’t seen her for what seemed like forever. But here she was… his mother.

“Oh my little boy,” she cooed, lightly brushing away the tears from his cheeks, “what’s with all the waterworks?”

“Probably a nightmare dear,” his father said, chuckling, as he joined them. He reached out a worn out hand adorn with small scars from countless hours of designing and stitching and affectionately ruffled his hair until it was just as messy as his. Somehow Adrien couldn’t remember the last time he did that. It was a wonderful feeling to feel.

He let out a silent gasp as their arms wrapped around him in a sudden embrace. He could feel their warmth slipping from their bodies into his as his mother rested her head on top of his. Adrien bit his lip as his vision was blurred by the new set of salty tears. He pressed his head into her form, letting his guard down as he loudly wailed his stifled sobs. He didn’t think that he’d get to feel this feeling again… the feeling of his family being whole again.

“Shhh… it’s alright, sweetie,” his mother gently sang as she ran her fingers through his hair, “I’m right here. I’m right here.”

He felt them pull away as they gazed down lovingly at him. Taking each of his hands, they led him to the piano and sat him down, his mother sitting to his right, his father standing to his left, his hand gently squeezing his shoulder.

“Come on. Let’s play a tune. What shall it be?” his mother asked, cocking her head in a playful manner, “Calypso? Are you sleeping Brother John? Hmm?”

“Violets and Silver bells. From that Shenandoah musical we saw in our trip to New York City,” Adrien hiccupped, rubbing the remaining tears from his eyes.  

“Ah… oh I love that song! What do think, Gabe?”

His father shrugged, making a silly face as he wiggled his eyebrows and pressed his lips together. “Do what suits you. Just remember dear… your singing would probably give us men a headache.”

The woman pouted and reached up to pinch his nose. Adrien giggled as his father comically flailed his arms like a mad man, trying desperately to break free from her strong grip. He remembered how his father used to make fun of his mother for singing too much. She’d sing almost every day, when she played piano, in kitchen, when she drove Adrien around Paris, even when she tucked him in at night.

“Your father can be a numbskull sometime,” she sighed, looking at Adrien’s smiling face, “Well shall we begin?”

The piano reawakened and began its carousel of music as their fingers pressed down on the pearly white keys. The room was once again filled brim again with the rich melody of happiness as sunlight continued to pour through the open windows. Adrien watched as his mother raised her head and inhaled a deep breath as she began to let the sweet sound of her voice echo the room.

_“Violets and silverbells, grapes on the vine. Love like a vineyard grows, delicate wine. Sugar and cinnamon, pepper and spice…love is the recipe that flavors our lives.”_

It had been a long time since he heard her sing. How long had it been? Days? Weeks? Months? He had gone without listening to the sound of her voice for many nights and would only silently cry himself to sleep wishing to hear it again. He felt the void that once belonged to her now was filled once again with her love and prayed that she would never leave. Feeling that void filled, sound flowed out of his lips as he along with his father joined his mother in her song.

 _“Sure as the briar and bramble entwine, so will it always be your dreams and mine,”_ their voices sang, harmonizing with the beautiful tune of the grand piano, _“Daisies and marigolds, roses that climb, love like a garden grows, sweeter with time. So will our garden grow…sweeter with time.”_

**_~*BOOM*~_ **

Suddenly Adrien open his eyes as the room was swallowed in darkness. The once brightly lit windows with red velvet curtains now rattled with wind and thunder as lightning flashed from the corners the now toppled curtains that laid defeated on the floor. The chandeliers shook above him, rattling their gems in horror as they swayed to the shaking of the loud thunder outside.

“Mom?” Adrien cried, leaping from the piano bench as papers scattered into the wind, “Mom where are you?”

_Sh-She was just here! I felt her! She held me, dried my tears, I heard her singing with us! No… Mom… no… please no!_

He wheeled around in a circle, desperately trying to find her through the darkness. His mind wracked over the fact that it was just a moment ago he was relishing her sudden return into his life only to have it now taken from him within a blink of an eye.

He noticed the small pearl flower broach lying helpless on the cold marble floor. He scrambled to move his feet towards the little accessory his mother treasured so dearly yet no matter fast his feet moved, he swore he was getting nowhere.

**_~*BOOM*~_ **

The sound of another rumble of thunder rattled the building, sending Adrien tumbling to the floor. He rolled over, feeling the agony of pain searing through his body as he desperately tried to grasp the broach. However, he watched as the accessory suddenly disappeared under a pair of designer shoes that were only inches from his nose. The boy peered upwards, seeing his father, his once sparkling youthful blue eyes now set with an piercing icy glare that bore into his son’s heart. Again and again, Adrien constantly asked himself where his mother was as she had suddenly disappeared from view and left him once again… all alone.

_“Adrien… Adrien…”_

**_~*BOOM*~_ **

_“HEY BRAT! COME ON BRAT! GET UP!”_

Adrien’s eyes shot open to the stinging sensation of tiny feet kicking the side of his head. He scrambled to sit up and let out a large gasp of air as if he had been underwater for a long period of time. He groaned still disoriented from the rude awakening as he felt the sudden chill of the beads of sweat that clung to his chest. He peered into the darkness, slowly registering the silhouettes of familiar objects that were illuminated by the Parisian nightlight that flooded through the rain soaked window panels of his oversized bedroom.

He groaned and shielded his eyes as he was blinded by his bedroom lights that suddenly flickered on. Looking over to the wall where the switch was stationed, he noticed the small black cat like sprite dangling from the switch as it stared back at him.

“P-P-Plagg,” he said, letting out a breathless groan as he rubbed the tiredness his with his index finger and his thumb.

Sighing, black kwami hovered over to his side and plopped himself down on his arm as he exchanged glances with his partner. Normally, Plagg would be jumping on him, nagging him to feed him at the first crack of sunlight peered out over Paris’s horizon as he gave his lame ass excuse of “being prepared for battle when Akumas strike.” Yet, it was clear to Adrien that his restless dream disturbed not only him but his partner, as Plagg stared at him with eyes filled with unusual worriment.

“Must have been some dream you were having,” he muttered, comfortingly patting his arm with his tiny little hand, his voice laced with concernment for the boy’s wellbeing, “you were moving around so much you knocked me off the bed. I heard you muttering about some musical and began singing a song about flowers in your sleep. Thought that you were having some stupid dream about Ladybug again so I nearly went back to sleep. That’s when you started screaming. So I had to wake you up before Ms. Pouty face secretary heard you. Are you okay?”

Adrien incoherently nodded, trying desperately to hide his fears from his partner. “I-I-I’m fine. Like you said, it was some random dream,” he muttered, falling back onto the bed as he threw his chemistry textbook across the room, “Turn off the light and go back to sleep.”

But the little black cat stood his ground and folded his tiny little arms. He was not at all thrilled at the fact that his human had woken him up from his “cheesy” dream with his constant screaming and kicking and was now denying the fact that it bothered him. “I heard you mutter the name “mom” a couple times. Wanna talk about it?”

“No. It’s nearly midnight and I’ve got a chemistry exam tomorrow.”

“So you’re going to just pretend like nothing happened? Well then have fun staying up for the rest of the night. You just be dead tired tomorrow that you’ll probably fail it anyways. Better to let it out now than later.”

“It’s none of your business. So lay off will you!”

He could hear the kwami grumble to himself about his ungrateful the boy was as for once, he was openly showing concernment for him and all he got back was a swat in the face. Plagg was obviously ignoring his demands completely as the lights were still on and were interfering with his concentration to drift back to sleep. Yet, despite his denial, Adrien knew that the little Kwami had a point. It was a better choice to talk about it, to let it all out. But no matter, what, Adrien just couldn’t let it out, he couldn’t say it. Was it that masculine pride boys held so revered as they hid their feelings from the world? Was it guilt of the fact that he disturbed his partner with his groans and nonsense mumblings in his sleep? Was it that he was afraid of closing his eyes and dreaming of the one person in his life who was currently absent? He didn’t know and chose not to figure it out.

He suddenly felt the chill of cold metal against his cheek. Grunting, he opened his eyes, and noticed Plagg hovering over him holding the powerful relic that was used to grant the boy special powers of bad luck. Bad luck was what he did not need right now as he mentally reminded himself of that blasted exam he had in the morning.

“Get up,” Plagg said, his voice no longer dripping with regular sarcasm and obnoxiousness as he tossed a pair of jeans, a light blue t-shirt and a green short sleeve blazer onto his sleeping form. Grumbling himself now, the boy scoffed and rolled over, letting his back be the response to his request as the articles of clothing now tumbled to the floor in a messy pile.

“Get up,” the kwami repeated, his voice now laced with an unusual serious tone, like an adult trying to get a child to follow the directions.

“No…”

“Get up, Adrien. I mean it.”

“No.”

He heard Plagg growl and curse in anger at the boy’s stubborn refusal to budge. He had hoped that this would have ended their little argument. However, the sudden tug on his golden blond locks answered him as Plagg dragged him out of his bed and violently threw him back down onto the floor, his face kissing the cold marble tiles. He sat up in groaning and glared at the Kwami as he hovered over to him, looking obviously done with him as he held out the ring with a demanding expression on his face.

“When I said get up, I mean GET UP!” he spat, wild green eyes glowing with anger and annoyance due to the fact that his act of kindness was being rebuffed by the boy’s ignorance, “I may be a pain in the ass to you most of the time, brat. But I hate it when people ignore me when something is bothering them, you especially. Now get dressed, we’re heading out!”

After much nagging and more hair pulling, Adrien was somewhat half awake as he quickly dressed himself while Plagg downed two wheels of the disgusting Chambert cheese, obviously preparing to face the long hours of the late night shift as he gingerly tossed Adrien the miraculous ring. Within seconds, both Adrien and Plagg faded from existence as Chat Noir who looked more or less ready for a “late night solo patrol” took their place. With one last glance of this dreary place he called home, Chat leapt out into the foggy night, inhaling the scent of a brief pause in between rainstorms that mixed with alcohol and whatever garbage fellow strays were nibbling on outside of ma and pa restaurants that had been closed for the night. Paris was already done playing her sweet melodies of her nightlife in the rain as everyone had already headed to bed…

…well everyone except for him.

Still drowsy from Plagg’s alarm clock method of kicking him in the face, the half-asleep Chat followed the echoes of the little kwami’s voice as he guided him through dark, dangerous alleyways that sheltered violent thugs and barking wild dogs from the rest of the city. He didn’t know where the kwami was taking him. The only thing he knew was that he was blindly being guided to somewhere Plagg was intending to go to. Inside, he had secretly hoped that his kwami knew the identity of his partner, the beautiful and fearless maiden in red, Ladybug. Yet, the bad luck kwami showed no interest in sharing topics about Adrien’s obsession with the girl as he continued to guide him past the Louvre’s brightly lit glass pyramid.

_He’s probably taking me to that stupid cheese factory again. Ugh… I still have that Chambert smell in my hair from when we faced that Cheese Akuma._

But Plagg seemed to be in no mood for a second midnight snack as the route became all too familiar to the boy. He scampered over rooftops, and leapt on streetlamps as the sound of another thunderstorm echoed its warnings overhead. He knew that he had to get out before another downpour occurred but chose to let normally glutinous kwami guide him to what he had hoped was an open door to his school.

_Maybe I can just sleep here tonight. After all, I’d be fully rested and I wouldn’t be late for school at the same time._

But school wasn’t Plagg’s intention either, the building that stood right next to him was. And suddenly… he found himself standing on the third story of an apartment that was nestled above Dupain-Cheng’s bakery.

Big fat rain drops soaked into his aching tired body as he peered into the lit attic windows of and into the bedroom he had become all too familiar with… much to his embarrassment. Through the rain soaked windows, he could make out brightly lit star shaped string lights that lined the walls above a loft bed, mirror next to designer mannequin that vividly displayed what looked to be a bright mint green dress still in its designing stages, a corner table with various objects scattered across its surface, a large wardrobe that was filled with various expensive fabrics and chaise (which the cat had once slept on) casually taking up part of the room. But it was who was lounging on the chaise, absent mindedly doodling in a polka dotted pink sketchbook that had caught the feline’s eye.

The person was tiny, perhaps the fourth smallest person in his class, after Alix, Mylene, and Sabrina. She had a mixed heritage of Parisian and Chinese that had blessed her with the exotic beauty of peach colored skin, dark raven hair that fell past her shoulders, and brightly lit blue eyes that reminded him of clear blue skies (oddly enough she bore various similarities to another dame who ran Chat’s life.) Her choice of nighttime wear consisted white t-shirt with a pink star on the front that fell to her waist and pink and white striped pajama bottoms that seemed to fall past her ankles over two fuzzy pink puppy headed slippers.

Just the sight of her made Chat forget the tiredness in his eyes or the forgotten reason of why Plagg brought him here, so much that he whispered her name under his breath.

“Marinette…”

Marinette Dupain Cheng, the baker’s daughter and the shy shrinking violet that sat behind him in class. She was timid, extremely clumsy and most of the time a stutter bug especially towards Adrien. But she was also extremely sweet, generous and caring. She was always ready to lend a hand, especially when it involved using a thread and needle as the girl was a rising fashion designer as her hat won first place despite the fact that spoiled brat Chloe tried to steal her design. In fact, Chat Noir had even experienced the gentleness and kindness this girl had as she had nursed him back to health after he had fallen severely injured to a rouge Akuma.

But there was that other side of her that dazzled the great Chat Noir that not even his civilian identity was aware of. The first time he met her as the heroic feline, she astonished him with her sudden change of personas as there was a full blown conversation that went between them without any hesitation that came from her lips. And out of all the dudes and damsels that he had saved in the past, this baker’s daughter was indeed a feisty fearless girl who was capable of taking on situations that put her in danger all on her own and even came up with a plan all on her own that had successful bailed her and Chat out of a mess.

To his surprise, he couldn’t believe that she was still up and about at this hour. Was this the reason why she was always late to school every single day? While yes, designing did take time, Chat was certain that there was an a more vivid explanation of her bedroom eyed tiredness and constant stream of tardiness that she revered as more important than school.

The texture of the rooftop beneath him suddenly gave away friction to his feet as he found himself clinging to the rain soaked window sill, his claws sinking deep into the splintering wooden frame. He shut his eyes, cursing the rain (and himself) for this sudden unfortunate luck as it was possible that Marinette would not notice the figure dangling outside her apartment window and leave him to suffer the inevitable fate that was three stories bellow him.

“Chat Noir? Chat what the hell are you doing?!”

And yet… the sudden warmth of two hands grasping his slippery wrists made fate say otherwise as he stared upward into the sky blue eyes lit his cloudy world. Once again, this boy was now the damsel in distress and she, the Plain  Jane of Paris, his knight cladded in pink pajamas and fuzzy puppy slippers, rescuing him from his demise as she used all of her strength to pull him up from the window sill and into the warmth of her pink bedroom.

Within moments, the rain soaked Chat Noir found himself shivering quietly as he sat on the very cushy chaise he occupied not too long ago, waiting for his hostess to return as she had disappeared through the attic door that connected her room to the rest of the house. He silently cursed Plagg for dragging him here as he was sure that this was pay back for him rejecting the kwami’s initial offer of sharing his feelings.

_Why couldn’t he lead me to Ladybug’s house? That damn Kwami instead tricked me into coming to the one girl who can’t bear to even look at me when I’m Adrien. What does he think I’ll get out of this? I can’t tell her about my nightmare!_

“So, why is the bad luck hero out so late?” Marinette’s voice chirped, shattering his doubts as he gazed up at her, seeing her carry a platter of warm freshly brewed tea in her hands, an orange and red blanket draped over her left arm and a large t-shirt and green towel lying over her shoulders,  “Not to mention, why were you outside my window while it was raining. I thought cats hated the rain.”

Too tired to even flaunt his true persona, Chat only gave a sheepish smile as she set the Chinese tea set on the table beside the chaise.

“Forgive me, my beloved princess,” he croaked, “I had a strange feeling that there might have been trouble a foot. Not even rain can stop this cat from protecting the city streets at night.”

“Liar…it’s written all over your face. Something’s bothering you, right?”

Was he truly that transparent that she could see right through his lies? He had practiced his nonchalant poker face many times in the mirror at home, making sure he could frame his facial features to hide any hints of doubt from the rest of the world. Yet, it seemed that Marinette was just one of those girls that was extremely observant, a trait that he had seen rather often with his partner, Ladybug.

Chat watched as she tugged his zipper bell that dangled lifelessly on his chest down without any hesitation, letting the top of his soaked leather suit to pool around his waist, revealing his drenched chest. She suspiciously eyed him, readily expecting him to suddenly spring to life with a seductive comment on the lack of hesitation she revered. However he was rather weak, cold and completely out of it to even realize or care about what she just did.

Instead, he let her do whatever she wanted to him as she dried him off with a itchy forest green towel and slipped one of her father’s oversized t-shirts that read Paris, Je‘tamie, or “Paris I love you” in bold cursive red letters over his chest, amusingly chuckling over the fact that he looked like a tiny little kitten in a big man’s shirt. She then wrapped a fluffy Native American accented orange and red blanket over his shoulders and handed him freshly brewed lemon and raspberry tea that she brought up just for him to drink.

Yet, it bothered her that he was not himself as he stared into the void of the tea cup, his fingers still trembling from the nightmare that was still replaying over and over in his head. He couldn’t shake the feeling of the once again empty void that left a major hole in heart. For a moment, the feeling felt so real as he was held again by his mother and father. He felt the warmth and love flow from their hearts into his as they cooed and smiled at him. For a fleeting moment, he felt like everything returned back to how his life used to be. Yet it was just a fleeting moment as it was all snatched up from underneath him, including his mother. His father’s face once again returned to the stern cold expression that housed what looked to be great hatred towards him as he stepped on the broach his mother once wore.

_Why? Why? Why was I dreaming it? Why did it all have to end so… so quickly? Ah… my chest. My chest… it hurts. Everything hurts!_

He felt the softness of two hands cup either side of his face as delicate fingers wiped away the streams of tears that had unconsciously fallen from his cheeks. He gazed down at Marinette as she knelt down in front of him and pulled him forward until his forehead was pressed against hers. Closing her eyes, she whispered comforting words to him, her breath filled with the scents of pure gingerbread and chocolate filled his nostrils.

“Shhh…” she whispered, rubbing circles on his back with her hand, “a sly but kind cat once told me that despair brings the worst in those who hold it in. I’m here for you Chat, so it’s okay to cry.”

Her soothing gesture was a nod towards the way he comforted her when she cried the last time he was in her room. Yet, the way she held him so gently and comfortingly mirrored the way that only his mother knew when she held him in her arms. Chat felt his whole body tremble with emotions as he lunged forward and grabbed Marinette, pulling her into a desperate embrace, his right arm tightly wound around her waist, his left clutching the back of her head. He buried his face into her shoulder blade, letting out a muffled wail as he soaked her t-shirt with his tears, He felt her respond to his embrace as she wrapped her arms around his chest, reaching up to brush back his bangs to plant a kiss on his forehead.

“You want to talk about it?” Marinette quietly asked, repeating Plagg’s early question as she gazed up at him. As much as Adrien did not want to spill his guts to the girl who was so intimidated by him, he gave in to her question with a sigh as he pulled her beside him and leaned his head against her shoulder, feeling the security of her arm wrapping around him and protecting him from whatever doubts filled his head.

“The truth is, Princess,” he mumbled, nuzzling the top of his messy golden crown against her cheek, “I had a dream about my mom tonight.”

“O-Oh…I’m sorry to hear that,” she said with a sharp intake of a breath, “M-My condolences.”  

“N-No it’s not like that. S-She not dead but I don’t know where she is. She disappeared a year or two ago and left me with my father who barely even acknowledges my existence and just sees me as a show cat.”

He felt Marinette swallow her breath as she tightened her grip on his waist. He knew that as hard as she tried to comfort him, she was at a loss of words as she struggled piece together something to encourage him. And to be honest, he really didn’t want to hear the string of constant monologues of comforting words. Sure it would be nice to hear her kind words comfort him but there was nothing that could keep him from thinking about his mother. Just being here with her was good enough for him.

“I-I know I can’t be much of help to ease your pain,” she said slowly as she cocked her head in the same manner his mother did in his dream, “But all I can say is, wherever she is, she still loves you and wants you to be happy. A mother would never want to wish to leave her child behind without a good reason. And I know I can’t just say cheer up as you’d still feel the pain of her absence. But Chat Noir, listen. You have others to turn to in times of need. While your dad is a complete numbskull to not realize how special you are, you have friends…you know… like Ladybug… m-me. I know that I’m pretty helpless compared to your partner, but if you are ever in need of someone who is willing to just lend an ear, I’m always here for you.”  

Chat pulled away and stared down at her, obviously drunk on overwhelming emotions as he stroked her cheek. He was at her mercy once again as she caught him off guard once again with the exact words he wasn’t expecting to hear. He stumbled into her room, obviously disrupting her private life with his presence. And she openly accepted his disruption as she came to his aid once again and comforted him in his time with very few but kind words.  How would he repay her kindness this time? She told him that she was here for him to speak to which meant that no matter what kind of gift he gave her, he still would owe her.  

Unconsciously, the boy leaned down and gently captured her lips with his. He was unsure how she would react at his sudden advancement. He wasn’t even sure why he had the urge to do it as she was not that comfortable in accepting kisses even if it were from the hero of Paris. Not to mention, she was nothing compared to his Lady.

Perhaps the reason was she bore resemblance to Ladybug, she did had the blue eyes, creamy peach skin and raven hair.

 _No_.

Perhaps it was that though she was powerless, Marinette could take any miserable situation and come up with a way to make it better.

 _Maybe_.

Perhaps it was the fact that he was exhausted and wasn’t fully thinking straight at the moment.

_Most definitely._

He could recall the very first two attempts he tried to kiss her, both ending rather badly as he tucked his tail between his legs and ran all the way home, cussing himself out. Who’s to say this time would meet with same if not worse results than before? She could easily push him away again and throw him back into the rainy gutters like she should have done the first time he was here. He was hoping-no praying- that she would do just that before he allowed his wild part of his hero persona to take over and do something he would regret later on.

But Marinette continued to astonish the cat as she pressed back with an equal amount of firmness and gentleness, no hesitation or regret in her response. In a way, her kiss reminded Adrien of the song his mother sang in his dreams. Her skin felt warm like pure summer sunshine against his claws as he gently grazed them over her cheek while traveling upward to tangle themselves in her midnight colored hair. He could taste the chocolate fudge macaroons, strawberry ice cream, and tart raspberry lemon iced tea with a hint of rose water on her lips as he kissed her gently. And her frame fitted perfectly against his like a jigsaw puzzle as he wound his arms around her slender waist while she pressed hands firmly on his chest. She represented everything in his mother’s song, every keystroke of the piano, every musical note played, every word of the lyrics sung. Every part of that number of that musical he had seen with his parents long ago was in this girl.  

The two shared a chaste kiss; one filled with neither lust nor secret scheme, just love, passion and innocence. To both parties, they seemed to forget who their respective love interest was and focused on the here and settled to sharing the moment with the person who normally took second fiddle in their hearts. Yet what seemed to be an eternity to them was only a fleeting moment as they broke the kiss, both flushed and breathless. No words were expressed for a few moments as they pressed their foreheads together, stealing tiny Eskimo kisses by brushing their noses together as they held each other.

Chat was the first to pull away, worried that he had just lead Marinette off the beaten path. He was in a desperate state and wasn’t thinking when he kissed her. He expected her expression to be one of betrayal as he stole a kiss without her permission. However, the twinkle in her eyes said otherwise as no traces of regret filled her eyes, only kindness. Sure, she’ll be embarrassed that the only boy who was willing to kiss her wasn’t her crush. But she was willing to let him have this one moment.

_If I wasn’t already in love with Ladybug, I could easily fall for you, my beautiful princess…my sweet beautiful Marinette._

“Ah… l-look at the time, it’s getting late and it’s a school night. I-I-I’m sorry for intruding,” the cat coughed as he awkwardly ran his claws through his hair. His timing was impeccable as now he cursed Plagg for dragging him here to the home of the plain Jane who could make the great Chat Noir melt into a puddle. He let go of her waist and began heading for the window of which she rescued him from, his legs feeling like Jell-O as he stumbled disoriented from the after effects of the kiss.  He suddenly felt a tug on his arm and looked back to be hypnotized by her blue orbs

“N-No… wait,” she squeaked, tightening her grip on his arm as she gave him the puppy dog eyes, “It’s way too dangerous to be patrolling out in the rain at this hour. Besides, you look so exhausted you might fall over any moment. Stay please?”

Chat chuckled, feeling as though he was probably the luckiest unlucky fool to have a girl like Marinette care for his wellbeing. “Thank you, my lovely princess but don’t you think you are pushing the envelope a little too far?”

Marinette groaned and rolled her eyes, falling into back into rebuffing his advances as she brushed off the flirtatious comment. “Don’t you think that Ladybug would be upset if she found out that you got sick? Stay for the night, or at least until the rain stops.”

Without any hesitation, she took his hand and led him up the steps to her bed that stood over her desk. Tiredly yawning, she pulled off the comforter and flopped down, nuzzling her nose against head of her plush kitty cat body pillow. Chat stared down, obviously blushing profusely as he knew exactly where this predicament would lead to. He gazed down, wondering if it were for the best if he just slept on the chaise. However, seeing how close the attic door was to the furniture proved to be a problem as either one of Marinette’s parents could come up and see the boy sleeping on her chaise.

He never got a chance to make up his mind as Marinette grabbed his hand and forced him to fall face down onto the butt of the cat pillow next to her. He sat up, his face flushed scarlet as he glared at her when she hit him in the face with the spare pillow she kept behind the body pillow. Didn’t she see what she was getting herself into?

“I’ve already kissed you once, pretty kitty. Only one kiss per customer per month so remembered that,” she mumbled, leaving an eye open, “I’m being nice to you this one time because you obviously can’t get your head on straight and its raining cats and dogs out there. Now promise me that there’ll be no funny business when the lights are out. Just go to sleep.” She yawned again as she reached out to gently pinch his nose, letting out a weak giggle when he batted her hand away. To his relief, she did acknowledge the situation and had firmly stated her reasons why she was letting him sleep with her tonight. Of course, he was a gentleman and gentlemen do not take advantage of women when they were asleep.

He relaxed and rested his head against the soft pillow. He watched her in silence as she tried to fight off the sleep awhile longer, hoping to at least keep an eye open should he take advantage of her while she was asleep. Yet, she was more exhausted than he was as he listened to the lullaby of her heavy breaths as she dozed in and out of consciousness.

**_~*WUUUGGGGHHHHH*~_ **

Chat softly chuckled at the all too familiar unrefined and unladylike rumble of her drunken sailor snore. He still remembered how the very first time he heard that disturbing sound, it snapped him out of his trance and he found himself lunging for the window. Yet, after hearing it at least several times during the day when she often dozed off during class, he grew to enjoy the sound. He wiggled a few inches closer to her until he could feel the warmth radiating off of her small form. He wrapped one arm around her and sat up slightly to plant his lips on her forehead before pulling away to stare back at her.  

“As you wish, Princess,” he whispered, his green eyes slowly growing heavier, “Sweet dreams.”

As he joined her in slumber, Adrien’s transformation wore off as Plagg flew out of the ring and into an aerial waltz with a red kwami that was filled with soft giggles and whispers. Tikki had been patiently waiting for him to appear so they could have just one moment to themselves as this was a rare occasion even for them. She praised the black kwami for his efforts in dragging Adrien to the one person who could understand him.

Plagg himself had to admit, he was quite pleased of giving into the foolish boy’s demands of bringing him to his Lady’s room, even if the idiot failed to realize it. After finding out that she sat behind the boy, He began to observe Marinette from the pockets of Adrien’s white blazer during those boring lectures that took hours. He was pleased to see that Adrien’s dream girl had a personality that was not demanding, snotty, or pressuring like several girls in his class. Instead, Marinette was kind, gentle and patient as well as feisty and fearless; something that even he would agree would be a perfect match for his stupid human.

However, the peaceful moment the two Kwamis shared was suddenly shattered between the four at the sound of Marinette’s attic door was pushed upward with a creak. Unbeknownst to them, the fifth party member had listened to the whole thing from below them and was now making her presence known.

Plagg and Tikki’s hearts stopped at the sudden appearance of Marinette’s mother as grumbled at the notion of her tired legs, quietly set down a platter of Chambert cheeses and sweet strawberry macaroons to the side before pulling herself up. To their surprise, she didn’t look at all alarmed to see tiny little creatures staring at her and offered them the platter of treats as a peace offering.

“Eat up,” Sabine whispered, gesturing to them, “You poor things must be famished.”

While Marinette had scrambled to hide things from her mother especially that other life, she never fully realized that she didn’t have hide anything from her. Why it wasn’t hard for Sabine to figure it all out, as it was mother’s intuition that gave her daughter away.

She still remembered that one day as if it was yesterday. That day was the day her dance instructor Mousier Yang became rather unbearable to deal with and transformed himself into a ghastly creature known as the Conductor. She didn’t know why he became this monster, but she remembered how brought Yang’s rampage to a brief halt out of nowhere once the young red heroine appeared. She watched as Ladybug dodged all the musical notes and flying steel fans that tore made tears into the stage. Yet, it was when Sabine awoke at the bottom of the orchestra pit, scraps adorning her arms and her right leg twisted and trapped under heavy metal beams. She was hurt, but the pain wasn’t as nearly as bad as she gazed up into the panic expression that was branded on the heroine’s face. Up close, Sabine noticed how the girl bore resemblance to her daughter; sky blue eyes, raven hair tied in pigtails and freckles that kissed her nose. From her hazy consciousness, the red and black mask disappeared from Ladybug’s face as Sabine found herself staring at her own daughter as the girl deliriously struggled to reach her. She even heard Ladybug whimper the word “mom” a couple of times as tears fell from her cheeks.

Afterwards, Sabine had to come to terms of her only daughter being Paris’s cherished heroine in red. At first she wasn’t too thrilled that this was the reason why Marinette was coming home late, getting poor grades, and falling asleep in class. She was even more squeamish as she sat on the edge of her couch, watching her baby on TV go into dangerous situations where she‘d be thrown around like a rag doll and held the possibility that she would not come back home again.

Her pride though trumped her fears of her little girl as normally Sabine would have to restrain herself from dancing around the room as she witnessed her daughter successfully purified another Akuma. The first time she did that, she fell off the couch, giggling through her pain as Tom began panicking and asking her constantly if she needed to head back to the hospital. She knew that she raised her daughter well as she taught her how to help those in need, especially those in despair. And Sabine could see how Marinette’s heroine persona was boosting her confidence in her civilian life as every once in a while she noticed Ladybug peeking through Marinette’s persona.

But it wasn’t the success of her daughter that helped Sabine accept the fact that Marinette was Ladybug. No.

She watched two kwamis sprawled out on the platter that was once filled with goodies, each letting out belches and hiccups at the knowledge that their bellies were filled with sweets and cheeses. Seeing them satisfied, she got up and walked up the loft stairs, peering down at the reason who slept so peacefully next to her daughter.

Like any parent, she would be fully against allowing a boy date her daughter she did not know let alone be in the same room with Marinette without her or Tom’s supervision. It was even absurd to find one sleeping beside her child. She could only imagine what Tom would do if he found out that there was a boy in Marinette’s bed.

She recalled Marinette’s strange behavior a few weeks ago when she found her running up in down the halls with a first aid kit. She remembered hearing the sound of her daughter’s sobs and the scampering of a second pair of feet moving above her room and struggled to rush to her aid with her crutches tucked under her arms. However, she stopped at the foot of the stairs as the owner of the second pair of feet calmed her daughter, asking her to let her tell him her whims that troubled her. She slowly crawled up the steps and peer up to see a cat in leather support her daughter, protecting her from the very creature that took over Monsieur Yang a month before and turned him into a monster. Seeing him there, encouraging her to never give up on the very performance Sabine had forced upon her without her permission, the mother could only quietly smile and crawl back down to the second floor.

Sabine recognized that Chat Noir was really the son of Gabriel Agreste, the famous fashion designer who the woman found to look so uptight and angry in magazines. This boy was also the classmate that her daughter fancied over so much and she could see why. Yet despite his high status, Sabine realized how terrible his life was as she spent the last hour sitting at the bottom of the steps to her daughter’s room, listening to the conversation between the two as he shared with Marinette. His mother had disappeared without a trace and he was stuck with a father who treated him more like a business partner than his own son. She could count the times Marinette or her friend Nino mention how Mr. Agreste seem to control his son, filling his schedules with galas, parties, photoshoots and whatnots. Why to Sabine, it seemed absurd as the poor boy was still a teenager. He should have been filling out his schedules with things that teenagers did like riding bikes, laughing with friends, or playing sports. And to his life worse, Sabine had learned that Agreste failed to show up to Bring you parent to school day, letting his son down as he was forced to watch his peers present their own parents. No wonder the child had formed a separate life to the one he possessed; the pressure of pleasing his father must have been overwhelming.

_If snot nosed of a father dares set foot in our bakery… I swear I’m going to give him earful of how to raise a child the right way. Just because his wife isn’t around to mother the boy doesn’t mean he can’t._

But all in all, she was grateful for the boy as Chat Noir was not only Marinette’s partner, he was her knight who put his own life on the line to protect her. With every step, every bound, every leap Ladybug took, he was always right by her side. Even when she was not Ladybug, Chat still valued Marinette’s own wellbeing and was there for her when she was down as she was for him. Despite how his father forced him to behave or how the media portrayed him as a flirtatious goofball, Chat Noir was kind, observant, patient, loyal, valiant, and just. A boy like that was one that Sabine would most likely approve for her daughter to date… perhaps even become her son-in-law one day.

Smiling at the sight of the sleeping teens, the mother could only lean forward and kiss both of their foreheads before pulling the covers over their shoulders, something she hadn’t done in over eight years. She only hoped that her action would give Adrien a bit of motherly love as she could see the large void in his heart that was only meant for a mother as she watched him grunt a little and rest his head against Marinette’s.

Sabine then crept back down the steps, her eyes making contact with Plagg’s as he silently thanked her for both the meal and hospitality before drifting off to sleep. She nodded, tickling his belly before she turned and walked down the steps, wishing the children a peaceful sleep as she headed back downstairs.

 


End file.
